Review of Dead To Rights

DISPATCH: Any units in the vicinity of the construction site please respond to shots fired…..

JACK SLATE: Responding to construction site. As he crashes through the gates only to find, what’s this, I can’t believe it. Why? WHY! Jack Slates journey into the under-belly of Grant City is just about to begin. He will be getting up close and not-so-personal with some of the most violent and despicable characters from the crime world. Jack has become a wanted man by good cops, bad cops, bounty hunters and crooks alike. It’s your job to get Jack the justice he and Grant City deserve, if you’re up to it.

Dead To Rights starts out just like an Action movie that you would pay to go see on the weekend. WOW! NAMCO has really outdone themselves this time. If I had to describe the gameplay in a word, it would be “riveting”. Taking the elements of a typical Action movie and incorporating it into an interactive video game is a welcome change to the Action game genre (yes, I know it’s been done before). The little intro CG scene to the games plot is definitely worth sitting through a few times to just marvel at the intense scenes and graphics that are present. CG cut scenes are also used between each chapter to help progress the storyline even further. The first time you put in this game, you will become totally consumed by the plot and you will begin to empathize with Jack Slate, ex-Grant City cop turned fugitive. Seems a terrible wrong has been committed and Jack will be out to make those responsible pay the ultimate price for that wrong.

When the game starts, you have a few choices to make, type of game, options, Obviously we will choose New Game, but the next important choice is the Difficulty. We chose Rookie as opposed to Normal (Default) and Super Cop. In Rookie mode, you are given a few tests and challenges, but as mundane and trivial as they appear, they are quite useful. They acclimate you to the controls, movements and special features available to Jack in certain situations. Almost like a tutorial. Take note of these features as they will become useful later in the game. The game will stop so that you can perform these tests and see how the game reacts. Pretty cool when they tell you to hit a key sequence to perform a dive while shooting in slow-motion…. is that The Matrix I hear? Jack has a sidekick, albeit a dog, but a ferocious Husky named ‘Shadow’. Shadow is also available as a weapon in this game, but only in special situations where he can be called upon to attack and disarm an opponent. Jack picks up weapons from his deceased victims as well as ammo and is also armed with his fists. That’s right, run out of ammo and you are left fighting with your fists. They want you to earn the next level.

The game is a journey where you have certain objectives that you must complete before you can move on, you need to beat everyone up in the yard or get a certain number of cigarette packs to use as money to acquire things. Some of the very nice additions from the title are the Mini-Games. Some levels require that you complete a mini-game or puzzle before progressing any further. Each mini-game has it’s own set of instructions to teach you how to play through it. This is a nice diversion from the actual gameplay and it gives the gamer a chance to catch their breath as well. After some levels and objectives are completed, there will be a short scene where you just sit back and watch the results of the task just accomplished and a prelude to your next task. These are nice interludes within the chapters.

Controlling Jack is quite easy and the characters movements are smooth, crisp and fluid. He has some moves to disarm his opponents, which can also be shown in slow motion, as well as being shown from many different camera angles. Something else that extremely helpful is being able to control the camera view. Instead of having to move the character around, just move the camera angle to look around you. This is great addition to the gaming experience and really helped to minimize a bad camera angle or location.

If you happen to die before completing the game, you know this when a large red stamp FAILED comes across the screen. Don’t despair; you are given the option of either Exiting or Continuing. When you continue, you are taken back to the last completed checkpoint, which are generously scattered throughout the chapters. Nice that you don’t have to start the chapter all over again. It should also be noted that the game can be saved at any time, and will be loaded from the last checkpoint that the character was at.

The background music sets the mood for each scene and only adds to the allure of this game. Playing just within audible range, the score doesn’t overwhelm the action, but instead compliments it perfectly and sets the atmosphere just right. The sound effects combined with the graphic quality of the explosions looks like it was taken right from an Action movie. Cross talk and chatter are occurring throughout the gun battles with people barking out commands, or just barking out a lung after you cap them.

Perhaps saving the best for last (these things ARE subjective of course), there are the graphics. The entire environment is completely polygonal and extremely well detailed…right down to the bullet casings left on the ground after you fire a shot. I was amazed at how well everything was textured and represented. Character detail is right up there with Tekken 4 which is saying a lot considering the size of the environments, mixed with the number of onscreen opponents.

There are all kinds of sweet little details in the game like mist hovering across the ground, bullet holes left in the walls, streams of lasers criss-crossing your path from the gun sights…the list can go on and on…but needless to say, each chapter has a little something “extra” that distinguishes it from the others to give the overall game that special feel to it. The graphics do an extraordinary job of placing the player into the game and really feeling like they are taking part in an action movie of epic proportions.

OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Dead To Rights' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.

Want To Know More About Dead To Rights ?

"NAMCO has done it again with a new genre of game they call ACTION NOIR. Noir is defined as, A genre of crime literature featuring tough, cynical characters and bleak settings. Well, they hit it right on the head with this one. This is a story of one mans journey into the world he knew by the characters he would track down and get off the streets of this once fine city. Jack is on a mission to right a wrong and make those responsible pay for that deed and pay they shall. Nothing like putting on the coat of the individuals you once used to capture and thrown in a cold dank cell, but there is a reason. To get to them, you must become one of them. There is definitely a plot and storyline that you are to follow and accomplish certain feats along the way all the while keeping your objective in sight. Sure there are twists and turns, but that is what makes this game so damn good."

Score Breakdown:

Graphics 18/20Playability 47/50Sound 7/10Lastability 18/20

Our Recommendation:

This game either pushes the boundaries of it's genre further than ever before on this system, or creates a completely new gaming experience. Either way, it should not be missed and is an essential purchase in our opinion.